Good Deal, Bad Deal? Job Satisfaction in Occupations

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rose

Sharply varying levels of job satisfaction in occupations in the UK are documented and explained primarily by reference to individual level data for a large sample of current employees collected in 1999-2000. An accompanying critique of the approach to job satisfaction in some applied and organizational psychology makes two points. First, the terms job and work need to be more carefully distinguished when examining satisfaction data, giving more attention to the terms of the employment contract, skill data, and the mobility implications of jobs, and relatively less weight to employee involvement, empowerment and self-actualization. Second, job satisfaction data supply evidence of the competent rational evaluation of utility on the part of employees, though individual affectivity undoubtedly conditions such assessments. The findings support a re-balancing in explanation between extrinsic and intrinsic sources of job satisfaction, while showing that work-related stress and excessive hours may in practice comprise a more urgent practical problem for management than socio-technical aspects of work-life quality.

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVAN WILLIAMS

AbstractInternational social security systems increasingly place work-related conditions on individuals claiming out-of-work benefits, and enforce requirements through the use of benefit sanctions. The literature on the impacts of benefit sanctions considers both labour market and wider social effects, which this study contributes to through a focus on mental health. It considers the period of Coalition government (2010–15) in the UK, which imposed a comparatively high number of benefit sanctions and increased their severity through the Welfare Reform Act 2012. A longitudinal dataset is constructed using quarterly local authority-level data on Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) sanctions and antidepressant prescriptions in England. Results from fixed effects analyses indicate that, in the post-reform period, every 10 additional sanctions are associated with 4.57 additional antidepressant prescribing items (95% CI: 2.14 to 6.99), which translates to approximately one additional person receiving treatment. Importantly, this finding indicates that sanctions are associated with both adverse mental health impacts and wider public expenditure implications, which motivates further investigation at the individual-level. In addition, punitive sanctions form a core part of the new Universal Credit (UC) and so the results suggest the need to reassess the use of sanctions within the contemporary social security system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilgun Yurtsever ◽  
Medine Yilmaz

Owing to the nature of their jobs, nurses all over the world experience burnout. The aim of this descriptive and correlational study was to describe the job characteristics, job satisfaction and burnout levels of home care nurses, and to predict what factors contributed to their job satisfaction and burnout levels. The study population consisted of 80 nurses working in home care units. Of them, 71 participated in the study. A socio-demographic questionnaire, the Minnesota Satisfaction Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used. Of the participants, 85.9 per cent were female, 56.4 per cent had a bachelor’s degree, and 46.5 per cent were employed in the public sector, 36.6 per cent in municipalities and 16.9 per cent in the private sector. The results revealed that their burnout levels for emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment were high, and moderate for depersonalisation. Perceived work-related stress was more associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation than with work satisfaction. Home healthcare nurses were suffering from high levels of burnout. Interventions are needed to improve job satisfaction, to reduce the burden of burnout among nurses, and to prevent them from leaving their jobs and retiring earlier.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-199
Author(s):  
Karen J. Buhr

BACKGROUND: Nurses’ occupational stress and job satisfaction can have an affect on lifestyle choices and productivity. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to provide a detailed examination of the relationship between job satisfaction, job stress, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and productivity among Canadian nurses. METHODS: This study uses data from the confidential master data files of the 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses (NSWHN). Ordinary least squares regressions and binary probit regression models were used to estimate the relationships between job satisfaction and job stress on productivity and unhealthy lifestyle choices. RESULTS: Workplace stress variables have a small effect on lifestyle choices. Job satisfaction has an effect on the probability of smoking, but not on drinking. Workplace stress and job satisfaction do not have statistically significant effects on productivity. DISCUSSION: The study found weak relationships among the work related stress variables and productivity. These findings can allow policy makers to consider efforts to reduce workplace stress which can be beneficial to productivity.


2002 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 80-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Simoens ◽  
A. Scott ◽  
B. Sibbald

Job satisfaction and work-related stress influence physician retention, turnover, and patient satisfaction. This study purports to elicit the views of Scottish GPs on job satisfaction, stress, intentions to quit, and to examine any patterns by demographic, job, and practice characteristics. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was undertaken by postal questionnaire on a random sample of 1,000 GP principals, 359 GP non-principals, and 62 PMS GPs. The response rate was 56%. GPs were most satisfied with their colleagues, variety in the job, and amount of responsibility given. The most frequently mentioned sources of job stress were increasing workloads, paperwork, insufficient time to do justice to the job, increased and inappropriate demands from patients. White, female, young (under 40 years) and old (55 years and over) GP non-principals and PMS GPs who work less than 50 hours per week as a GP were more likely to be satisfied with their job and reported lower levels of stress. Conclusions: GP participation in the workforce could be promoted by introducing more flexible working patterns (e.g. part-time work), by expanding the scope of contractual arrangements, and by making patient expectations more realistic by clearly communicating what the role of a GP actually encompasses.


Work & Stress ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin J. MacKay * ◽  
Rosanna Cousins ◽  
Peter J. Kelly ◽  
Steve Lee ◽  
Ron H. McCaig

Author(s):  
Megan Alderden ◽  
Wesley G. Skogan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the correlates of job satisfaction among civilian employees of law enforcement agencies, to assess how features of the policing workplace influence employee morale. Design/methodology/approach – The data for this study were drawn from surveys conducted as part of the National Police Research Platform. In total, 472 civilians from 19 police agencies completed the survey. Findings – The findings indicate that contentment with pay and benefits, lower levels of work-related stress, equality in the workplace, and feelings of acceptance were associated with civilian employee satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The analyses presented here focusses on factors more unique to policing and did not include all of factors correlated with job satisfaction in past literature. Future research should address this as well as control for the effect of organizational-level factors. Practical implications – The research identifies key factors in each of those categories that inhibit the effective incorporation of civilians into the workforce. It indicates that reaping the full advantages of civilianization is complex and requires attention to fundamental aspects of police organizations. How administrators deal with this reality will impact the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations in important ways. Originality/value – To date, much of what has been written about the place of civilians in policing consists of descriptions of their numeric representation and discussions of the presumed advantages of hiring them in larger numbers. Less is known about how well civilians have been integrated into the policing workforce.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 718-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galatia Nicolaidou Solomou ◽  
Petros Pashiardis

Purpose – Although school autonomy has been a matter of great interest during the last decades and several relevant measures have been implemented toward this end, the relation between school autonomy and school effectiveness has not been examined thoroughly. The purpose of this paper is to explore this relation and to propose an effective school autonomy model for Cyprus, a small European country with a highly centralized educational system. The suggested model indicates which decisions (related to various administrative, financial, academic, pedagogical and human resources matters) must be made at school level, which decisions can be made partly from the school with a higher level of control from the ministry and which decisions have to be made exclusively by a central authority, in order to enhance school effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – An unusual methodological design is followed, using scenarios to examine hypothetical situations. Cypriot headteachers’ job satisfaction and work-related stress is examined in the case of full autonomy and in the opposite scenario of very limited autonomy. The results from this phase of the study lead to the design of the suggested school autonomy model, which is then tested in terms of effectiveness through a third scenario. The scenarios are given in questionnaires and the sample includes 300 out of a population of 350 primary school headteachers of Cyprus. Findings – The findings of the study suggest that headteachers’ job satisfaction and work-related stress is affected by the level of school autonomy that characterizes an educational system. The most effective scenario for the case of Cyprus does not refer to the existing situation of very limited autonomy, neither to the opposite scenario of full autonomy. The most effective scenario refers to the suggested model of school autonomy where all decisions related to various academic, managerial, financial and human resource matters are taken at school level, except for the decisions related to teaching materials and textbooks, teacher placements, promotions, payroll and dismissals. For these decisions the guidance, support and/or control from the educational authorities have to be enhanced. Research limitations/implications – In this study school effectiveness is examined through the headteachers’ job satisfaction and stress as the dependent variable, and not through the conventional student achievement variable. A part of the existing literature suggests that these variables affect school effectiveness in an indirect way. Taking into consideration student achievement was not possible for the case of Cyprus, since the only scenario currently existing refers to very limited or no school autonomy. Therefore, it is not possible to compare the academic results of students coming from schools with different levels of autonomy. Practical implications – The methodological approach of the study can be followed in other contexts as well, in order to design an effective school autonomy model for a different educational system, district or school. Scenarios can also be used to test and make corrections for a suggested educational reform, before this is implemented, in order to avoid waste of time and/or financial resources. Originality/value – The value of this study first lies in its attempt to design a school autonomy model, based on all the educational decisions and matters that can be affected from a school autonomy reform; this became possible through an extensive literature review. Second the study, does not only support some suggestions based on the results, but also tests the effectiveness of the suggestions before these are implemented, following the unusual methodological approach of scenarios. Moreover, the relation between school autonomy and school effectiveness has not been examined thoroughly in the existing literature and some conflicting opinions exist. The findings of the study can help us gain a better understanding of the above relation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nualnong Wongtongkam ◽  
Branka Krivokapic-Skoko ◽  
Roderick Duncan ◽  
Mariagrazia Bellio

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